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City staff previews priorities, tracking and outreach for 89th Texas Legislature
Summary
City Intergovernmental Relations staff briefed the Arlington City Council on the 89th Texas Legislature schedule, the city's adopted state and federal legislative agendas, bill-tracking plans and how the city will notify council of urgent developments during session.
Natalie Ralston, Intergovernmental Relations manager for the City of Arlington, told the City Council on Jan. 7 that the 89th Texas Legislature opens Jan. 14 and that her office will provide regular, written updates during the session.
The city adopted a state and federal legislative agenda in the fall; Ralston said staff began developing that agenda in March 2024 with departmental surveys and meetings and used it to focus the city's advocacy this session. She said 2,443 bills and resolutions had been filed as of the previous day and the city flagged 667 bills that could affect Arlington.
Ralston said the IGR team will include a legislative update memo in each afternoon agenda starting with the next council meeting and will notify council immediately if urgent developments occur between meetings. She described an internal bill-analysis workflow that combines department input with the City Attorney's Office and noted staff is adopting new software to speed review. Jay Warren, Director of Communications and Legislative Affairs, introduced the presentation and said the IGR manager will be the primary point of contact for council during session.
Council members asked how the city will handle rapid, time-sensitive legislative opposition. Ralston said formal letters of opposition have typically been issued by the mayor, and she is preparing templates to speed that process so letters can be distributed quickly; she also noted the city frequently uses behind-the-scenes work with legislative staff to shape bills before escalating to public opposition. Council members cautioned that the Texas Open Meetings Act constrains how multiple council members can jointly approve positions and suggested the Municipal Policy Committee could be used when faster, multi-member input is needed.
Ralston described opportunities for council and staff engagement, including Tarrant County Days at the Capitol (Feb. 10-11) and targeted advocacy meetings. She said city staff will coordinate with local partners'including the school district, UT Arlington, the Chamber and CVB'to align priorities and will provide a comprehensive wrap-up presentation after the session adjourns June 2.
Council members asked about departmental access to the new bill-analysis software; Ralston said the tool will give an initial municipal-impact readout but had not been fully deployed to departments yet. She asked council members to contact her directly by phone, email or text if they need immediate updates during the session.
Ralston closed by offering to schedule individual meetings for council members who had not yet met with delegation members about the legislative agenda.
